About

I'm a Bay Area software developer with a relentless drive to create and improve. I started out programming in C, building projects like an RFC compliant TCP protocol and IRC server. I've since built and worked on web applications in a variety of stacks, and added Python, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, React, Redux and more to my repertoire. The joy of tackling novel problems is what sparked my interest in programming, and what keeps me building, optimizing, and planning new projects. In my free time I enjoy running, hiking, reading (especially fantasy and science fiction), board games, and learning Japanese.

Projects

Sherwood

Sherwood is a single page app clone of the popular stock trading website robinhood.com built with JavaScript, React.js, and Redux frontend a Ruby on Rails backend, and a PostgresSQL database, and stock prices and news provided by the IEX and News APIs respectively. Sherwood features over 8,000 publicly traded companies complete with company information, real-time stock data, and interactive charts of stock and portfolio performance ranging from one day to five years. Users can 'buy' and 'sell' stock within Sherwood's ecosystem, and can see their portfolio's performance over time periods of up to five years.

Live Site

MyPhotoJourney

MyPhotoJourney is a web application built with a team of four for the creation of interactive shareable maps displaying a trip or journey. MyphotoJourney utilizes a React/Redux frontend, Node.js backend, Express router and MongoDB database. The app additionally leverages a D3.js shapefile to display an interactive world map, node-geocoder to build a route on the map, and AWS-based photo storage. Users upload photos and fill in date/time information as well as location, and with a press of a button their trip is rendered on a world map, where they can mouse over each point to see a picture and description of the moment.

Live Site

Trigonometry Wars

Trigonometry wars is a game in which the player defends against waves of enemies with a bouncing laser inspired by games like Geometry Wars, Tank Trouble, and many hours spent trying to hit ridiculous shots in games of pool. The game is written in pure JavaScript using an HTML5 canvas, with all vector math, collision logic, particle effects, and frame rendering created from scratch. Earn more points for hitting enemies on a later bounce and survive as long as you can!

Live Site

Skills

Ruby

Python

JavaScript

HTML5

CSS3

Ruby on Rails

React

Redux

Looking to get in touch?

Email me at nick@nhowlett.com or use the form below!